Many psychonauts are interested in studying psychedelics in academia, but since there isn’t a well-defined path tread by multitudes of other students, deciding how to go about it can be quite a challenge. There are certainly success stories of people who have made a career for themselves out of working in the field of psychedelics, but they seem to be few and far between.

Fortunately, it does seem like academia is gradually warming up to the idea of psychedelia as a legitimate field of study. Since there aren’t a whole lot of tried-and-tested guides out there geared toward helping potential psychedelic scholars navigate collegiate careers, we have created a panel of experts from Europe, USA, and Canada that can help light your way to a psychedelic career. You’ll learn how our panelists made a psychedelic career in areas like communications, clinical research, psychotherapy, education, entrepreneurship, and psychiatry. A 1 ½ hour Q&A will help ensure that everyone who has questions will have an opportunity to ask our panel. Participate anywhere you use Zoom.

… for the first international psychedelic career day. It will be webcast on Zoom across 9 time zones, from Prague to the Pacific. Ben’s address will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A. Be part of history and chart your career.

Psychedelic and student groups will be given preference in the Q&A. To register your group, please email info@torontopsychedelic.net.

Bios

Dr. Ben Sessa

Ben is the curator and founder of Breaking Convention a biennial conference exploring the many facets of Psychedelics at Greenwich College outside London, U.K. Ben has been a consultant child and addictions psychiatrist with 20 years’ clinical experience with child abuse. The saddening inevitable trajectory into adult mental disorders and addictions forms Ben’s clinical outlook which has brought him to psychedelic therapies – particularly MDMA. Having studied LSD, psilocybin, ketamine and DMT for 15 years, he now runs the world’s first MDMA study for alcoholism. He’s authored textbooks (The Psychedelic Renaissance) and a novel about psychedelics. Devoted to his patients, Ben agonizes over their plights and is committed to novel psychotherapeutic approaches for his beloved, floundering field of psychiatry.

Daniel Greig – moderator

Daniel is a student of Cognitive Science and Philosophy at the University of Toronto. His focus is on mysticism, magic and the psychedelic experience through the lens of psychology and neuroscience. Daniel also works with the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP) as a community organizer, hosting such events as the annual Mapping the Mind with Mushrooms conference, and the Psychedelic State seminar series.

Rita Kočárová

Rita is an MSc, PhD candidate, is a junior researcher at National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the research program of Social Psychiatry, PhD student of clinical psychology at Charles University in Prague, trainee of Gestalt therapy and executive director of Beyond Psychedelics – multidisciplinary global forum on psychedelics. She is also a founder of Czech Psychedelic Society.

As a researcher she is currently working in the study where effect of psilocybin is studied on healthy volunteers at NIMH. In her work, she focuses on mechanism of therapeutic functioning of psychedelics on psychological level, therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs, studies with psychedelics and deliriants conducted in 60s in former Czechoslovakia and also complex approach to the addictions.

Some of these topics she was intensively studying also during her research internship in Takiwasi Center in Peru in 2014, where psychotherapy and psychoactive plants are used to rehabilitate drug addicts, besides exploring variety of other contexts all over the world where psychedelic substance is used.

In Czech Republic, she used to work as a streetworker for addicted drug users in Podané ruce, o.s., an organization promoting harm-reduction philosophy. She is a member of organizational committee of International Transpersonal Conference 2017, Young Psychiatrists Network Meeting and Rational Drug Regulation conference. She is actively speaking at the conferences, festivals and at the public events.

David Wilder

David Wilder is a writer covering topics like psychedelics, spirituality, technology, and self-development for Psychedelic Times, Reality Sandwich, and his blog ThinkWilder.. His “This Week in Psychedelics” column contains a curated list of psychedelic-related news articles and has been published weekly since 2015. Learning about psychedelics was initially just a hobby, but now his mission is to spread accurate information about them far and wide through his writing. Read David Wilder’s post: Continuing Further Education with Psychedelics before the webinar.

Anne Wagner

Anne is a clinical psychologist who enjoys working with individuals and couples who are navigating non-ordinary states of consciousness experiences, traumas, relationship dynamics and enhancement, and personal growth and well-being. She is a researcher who works on trauma treatment development, currently integrating the use of MDMA with Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD. Anne is deeply committed to her work and involvement with the HIV sector, having done much work around HIV stigma and trauma-informed care in community health, LGBTQ2S, and AIDS Service Organizations. Anne does private practice work at EBT3 , research at Ryerson University, sits on the Quality Committee at Casey House, and is the Chair-Elect of the Traumatic Stress Section of the Canadian Psychological Association.

Alison McMahon

Alison McMahon is the CEO of Cannabis At Work, a Certified Human Resource Professional, educator and entrepreneur. After 10 years of providing HR solutions to customers across Canada, she founded Cannabis at Work in 2015.

Cannabis at Work is the leading source in Canada for cannabis jobs, recruitment services, online industry training, and workplace impairment training.

Alison holds a Bachelor of Human Resources and Labour Relations (B.HRLR) and a Certified Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation.

Alison served on the board for the Human Resources Institute of Alberta (HRIA) for 3 years. In addition, Alison is a former Term Instructor at the MacEwan University School of Business.@alisonlmcmahon@cannabisatwork

Trevor Millar

Trevor Millar is a social-entrepreneur and owner of Liberty Root Therapy Ltd., serving those called to experience the healing properties of African plant medicine Tabernanthe Iboga and its derivatives. Iboga is a powerful psychedelic and an exceptional addiction interrupter; recent discoveries show it’s also excellent for treating Parkinson’s Disease and perhaps other neurological disorders. Trevor’s interests extend into psychedelics as evolutionary tools and practical life-enhancers and has a passion for helping the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, spearheading projects that benefit the residents of that neighbourhood. Trevor is also the former Executive Director of the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance.

SSDP – Students for Sensible Drug Policy is replacing the disastrous war on drugs with policies rooted in evidence, compassion and human rights. Our 5,000 student members mobilize from 300 schools around the globe to make change from the campus to the UN because the war on drugs is a war on us.

Psychedelic Speakersis a project of the Toronto Psychedelic Society, bringing important voices from the psychedelic community into the mainstream by webinar. Videos of our events can be found on Youtube.
CSSDP – Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy is a grassroots network comprised of youth and students who are concerned about the negative impact our drug policies have on individuals and communities. We work on local, national and international levels to promote sensible drug policy, increase harm red reduction awareness, and disseminate evidence-based educational resources.Think Wilder investigates the infinite realities that we are a part of. Common topics here include music, reading and writing, plant-based diets, fitness, meditation and yoga, psychoactive drugs, gardening, alternative economics and self-development. However, there is no self-defined limit to what will be explored here. This is a labor of love with the intention of spreading consciousness and exercising my writer’s voice.

Psychedelics Today is dedicated to exploring and discussing the important academic/scientific and other research in the field of psychedelics. We are interested in how psychedelics and other non-ordinary states of consciousness relate to the human potential as well as the healing potential that they can foster.

Previous TPS events:

Sidney Smith Hall, Room 2102University of TorontoJanuary 20th, 2018

Join us for a symposium with six speakers presenting their latest findings on microdosing and different states of consciousness, including Jim Fadiman*, Sophia Korb, John Vervaeke, Dan Greig, Rotem Petranker and Thomas Anderson. * Jim Fadiman will join us by webcam. The speaker profile is now available!

A psychedelic renaissance has been unfolding over the last 20 years. Hundreds of scientific papers have been published on the cognitive, behavioural and therapeutic effects of LSD, MDMA, psilocybin and Ayahuasca. The majority of these studies use high doses, which tend to elicit ‘mystical experiences’ fairly reliably. It is the occurrence of such experiences that happen to be predictive of lasting positive outcomes from the use of psychedelics in therapeutic settings. However, there is another method for psychedelic use that is relatively unexplored; microdosing.

Microdosing refers to the use of psychedelics in sub-perceptual doses (meaning the effects aren’t explicitly noticeable) for cognitive and performance enhancing purposes. This is said to enhance creativity, insight, cognitive flexibility and improve mood. This symposium will bring academics together to begin an exploration of the phenomenon of microdosing, how it might work, and the relationship that the proclaimed benefits bear to the mystical experience inducing qualities that psychedelics are so well known for. Featuring a diverse array of speakers from data-driven perspectives to philosophical and theoretical foundations, join us to learn about the full range of psychedelic experiences from microdosing to mystical experiences.

About the organizers:This symposium is the result of collaboration between:Toronto Psychedelic Society is a community of academics, artists, health professionals, students and anyone interested in psychedelics. http://torontopsychedelic.net

Psychedelic Speakers is a project of the Toronto Psychedelic Society, bringing important voices from the psychedelic community into the mainstream by webinar. http://psychedelicspeakers.com. Videos of our events can be found on Youtube.

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy is a grassroots network comprised of youth and students who are concerned about the negative impact our drug policies have on individuals and communities. We work on local, national and international levels to promote sensible drug policy, increase harm red reduction awareness, and disseminate evidence-based educational resources.

Psychedelic Science Interest Group: We are a team of early career psychiatrists and PhD students in doing research on the benefits and drawbacks of microdosing psychedelics in the community. Contact: petranke@yorku.ca

Symposia organizers take a harm reduction approach to promote accurate information, education, and safety. We do not encourage or condone the purchase, sale, transfer, or use of any illegal substances; nor partaking in any unlawful activities related to illegal substances. Please do not bring, buy, sell, transfer, or arrive on any illegal substances, or swap information on how to acquire them at any of our events.

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